A concept emerging from the study of stress is that of ‘hassles and uplifts’. Hassles are considered to be those frustrating, irritating everyday experiences that occur regularly in our work, home and personal life. Examples of stressors include being stuck in traffic, having an argument with a friend or close relative, experiencing rude behaviour and our children misbehaving. In contrast, uplifts are the positive experiences in the same areas of life that to some degree mitigate the negative effects of the daily hassles.
Richard Carlson’s self-help guide entitled Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (1997), warns its readers that most stressors are not the major life events such as divorce, redundancy or the death of a loved one, but the relatively minor annoyances that affect us more regularly and which accumulate over time. Research tends to support this notion, with many studies showing that these relatively small, everyday stressors can have a significant impact on mental health.
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